Department for Transport

Dartford-Thurrock Crossing

Stephen Metcalfe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many times the Dartford Crossing has closed in the last 12 months; and what the cause of each closure was.

Andrew Jones: The Dartford Crossing consists of two bored tunnels and the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge. There has been only one planned closure in the last 12 months where the crossing has been fully closed i.e. both the bridge and the tunnels. This was for overnight works on 15 August 2015 for the removal and installation of new gantries for the Dartcharge project. There have also been 81 occasions when either the bridge or one of the tunnel bores have been closed for planned construction or maintenance works. These works were carried out overnight when traffic flows are such that they can be accommodated by the remaining open elements of the crossing. The 81 occasions comprise 4 bridge closures, 42 west bore closures and 35 east bore closures. There have been 9 unplanned bridge closures; twice for high wind and 7 for broken down vehicles, collisions and police-led incidents. There have been 5 unplanned closures of the west tunnel; 4 traffic incidents and once to repair a road defect. There have been 12 unplanned closures of the east tunnel; 10 times for traffic incidents (4 broken down vehicles, 5 collisions and one diesel spill) and twice for road repairs.

Taxis

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what safeguards are in place to ensure that private hire vehicle operators remain responsible for journeys sub-contracted to other licensed operators across licensing authority boundaries.

Andrew Jones: Whilst private hire vehicle operators have the freedom to subcontract bookings, the operator that originally accepted a sub-contracted booking remains ultimately responsible for that booking. Both the initial operator who accepts the booking and the operator who fulfils the booking by providing a driver and vehicle are under a duty to keep records of the booking. The relevant enforcement authorities are able to check those records. All bookings, including those subcontracted, have to be fulfilled by operators, drivers and vehicles all of whom have been licensed by their local authority.

Dartford-Thurrock Crossing

Stephen Metcalfe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the average length of a (a) delay and (b) tailback caused by the closure of the Dartford Crossing; and what effect a new crossing would have on those averages.

Andrew Jones: Typically there are in excess of 300 incidents per year resulting in partial or full closures of the Dartford Crossing. On average each incident takes approximately 27 minutes to deal with, often requiring a lane closure for safety. During this time queues build rapidly towards junctions 29 and 3 of the M25 and take a further 3 to 5 hours for the road condition to return to normal. Highways England are continuing to explore ways of reducing incidents and improving clear up times. In the longer term, with a new crossing, there would be increased capacity to cross the river so the effect of any incident would be less extreme. If one of the tunnels were to close today, the northbound capacity of the crossing would reduce by 50%. With the new Lower Thames Crossing in place at either Dartford or Gravesend, a closure of one of the tunnels at the Dartford Crossing would still leave more capacity than exists today without an incident, so recovery times would be much improved.

Motor Vehicles: Insurance

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what checks are in place to ensure that foreign-registered vehicles entering the UK are insured.

Andrew Jones: All drivers using roads in the UK have to be in possession of third party insurance covering the use of that vehicle in this country. Under the sixth Motor Insurance Directive (2009/103/EC) an insurance policy issued in any EU Member State must cover the use of that vehicle for third party risks in all other EU Member States. Drivers entering the EU from non-member states have to produce evidence that they have the necessary insurance cover in place when they enter the EU. Checks on insurance by the police for any vehicle using UK roads can be carried out as they determine is necessary at any time.

Heathrow Airport

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential economic impact of building a third runway at Heathrow on the North and Yorkshire.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Government continues to consider the large amount of very detailed analysis contained in the Airports Commission’s final report before taking any decisions on next steps.

West Coast Railway Line

David Mackintosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what improvements will be introduced on the West Coast Main Line after High Speed 2 comes into operation.

Claire Perry: Network Rail leads the industry long term planning process, and works with the Department for Transport, local transport authorities and operators to identify and consider future options for capacity improvement across the rail network as a whole. Work is currently underway to consider how to manage and make best use of capacity on the West Coast Main Line once services on the first phase of HS2 are scheduled to start operating in 2026/27. This will include consideration of how any released capacity on the West Coast Main Line might be best used to serve places on the “classic” network. In due course, the government will consider the options that are identified by this work. These options will feed into the government’s decisions on rail investment for the periods 2019-2024 and beyond, taking into account the recommendations of the Hendy, Bowe and Shaw reports.

Roads: Local Growth Deals

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 1.292 of the Budget 2016, what road schemes he plans will receive funding from the £24 million from the Local Growth Fund.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The £24m my Department is providing to North Yorkshire County Council is to part fund a scheme to maintain a large number of minor (Category 4a and 4b) roads across the County over the period 2016-2021. A map of the affected roads can be found in the Business case at: http://www.northyorks.gov.uk/lgfmaintenance The scheme was given initial approval as part of the Local Growth Fund process in 2014 following a bid from the Council supported by the York, North Yorkshire and East Riding Local Enterprise Partnership.

Heathrow Airport

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 8.18 of the Airports Commission Final Report, July 2015, what the estimated cost is of the tunnelling work required for the M25; and whether that cost would be incurred by the public purse or Heathrow Airport Limited.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Alongside its Final Report in July 2015, the Airports Commission published a range of supporting analysis and assessments. The Cost and Commercial Viability: Financial Modelling Input Costs Update report included estimated costs for the surface access proposals for each of the Commission’s three short-listed options for airport expansion. The report set out the estimated capital expenditure costs for the works associated with M25 tunnelling (south of junction 15) as £576m for the Heathrow Airport North West runway option and £864m for the Heathrow Airport Extended Northern runway option. The Airports Commission made clear in its Final Report (paragraph 16.33) that Government would need to agree the nature, scale and financing of the surface access transport improvements associated with expansion, and the Government has been clear that it expects the scheme promoter to meet the costs of any surface access proposals that are required as a direct result of airport expansion and from which they will directly benefit.

Railways: South East

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 18 January to Question 22232, when he plans to publish the findings of the London and South Coast Rail Corridor Study.

Claire Perry: The Study is expected to be completed shortly, and the Government will subsequently consider the timeframe for releasing the study findings, including our response.

Roads: Investment

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 1.236 of Budget 2016, how much additional funding will be provided for investment in roads; and to which schemes that funding will be disbursed.

Andrew Jones: Budget 2016 marked the launch of work on preparing the next Road Investment Strategy. This includes determining how much funding will be made available for the period 2020/21-2024/25 and which investment proposals to take forward. The Department for Transport has published “Road Investment Strategy post 2020: planning ahead” to inform all interested parties so that they can play their part in the preparation of the next Road Investment Strategy. It is available online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/508505/road-investment-strategy-post-2020-planning-ahead.pdf

Network Rail

Iain Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what meetings he has had with Network Rail in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Patrick McLoughlin: I and my ministerial team regularly meet with senior officials of Network Rail to discuss a wide range of key issues facing the company. We recently discussed progress against the recommendations made by Dame Colette Bowe. In my letter to her on 25 November 2015, I committed to publishing a Memorandum of Understanding between the Department and Network Rail. This is the formal framework which resets the rail enhancements framework. It will improve and strengthen the governance and day-to-day management of the process for planning and overseeing rail enhancements, providing clearer accountability for associated costs and project management. It is deposited in the libraries of the House and available on the GOV.UK website.

Heathrow Airport

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 5.13 of the Airports Commission: Final Report, published in July 2015, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the finding that 431 hectares of green belt designated land would be required for the proposed third runway at Heathrow.

Mr Robert Goodwill: In December 2015, the Government announced that it would start preparing the building blocks for an Airports National Policy Statement. The National Policy statement will be informed by an Appraisal of Sustainability which will look at all relevant social, economic and environmental impacts of airport expansion.

Heathrow Airport

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many air pollution monitors there are in which location within Heathrow Airport's perimeter from which official data on air quality is collected.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Heathrow Airport Ltd (HAL) has monitored air quality since 1993 at its site located near the northern runway (LHR2), however this does not provide official data for Defra’s national air quality monitoring network - The Automatic Urban and Rural Network (AURN). Heathrow also now monitors air quality at three other sites around the airport — Harlington, Longford (Green Gates) and Stanwell (Oaks Road). The Harlington site is included within AURN. Further information is available on the Heathrow Airwatch website at: http://www.heathrowairwatch.org.uk/

Driverless Vehicles

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his plans are for the trialling of driverless HGV platoons.

Andrew Jones: There are no plans for trialling driverless HGV platoons. The trials under consideration would have drivers in each vehicle, who will be required to stay alert and remain able to control the vehicle. The Department for Transport is expecting to publish an invitation to tender later this year.

Money Laundering: EU Law

Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the number of its senior civil servants who will potentially fall under the provisions of the Fourth EU Money Laundering Directive, 2015/849; and what assessment he has made of which of his Department's agencies or other public bodies will potentially be classed as holding a prominent public function for the purposes of that directive.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Department for Transport’s current assessment is that none of its senior civil servants, including those in its agencies or other public bodies, will fall under the provisions of the fourth EU Money Laundering Directive, 2015/849.

Home Office

Passports: Interviews

Chris Law: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of interviews for a first-time adult passport application she expects to be conducted on a face-to-face basis in (a) England, (b) Northern Ireland, (c) Scotland and (d) Wales after the proposed closure of 15 HM Passport Office interview offices.

James Brokenshire: Based upon the number of interviews conducted in 2015 (222,264), following the changes to Her Majesty’s Passport Office interview office estate it is expected that 212,767 (95.72%) interviews will be conducted face-to-face.This would be broken down by country to:England: 183,952 (97%) face-to-face interviewsNorthern Ireland: 3,965 (100%) face-to-face interviewsScotland: 15,496 (85.83%) face-to-face interviewsWales: 9,354 (85.10%) face-to-face interviews

Human Trafficking

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to tackle human trafficking into the UK at source.

Karen Bradley: We are committed to tackling all forms of modern slavery, including human trafficking. The Government has secured commitment from other governments and institutions, including the UN, the Commonwealth and the EU, to tackle modern slavery. We have successfully lobbied for the establishment of the first ever UN Sustainable Development Goal to end modern slavery. We are also working bilaterally with priority countries to deepen law enforcement cooperation.The Work in Freedom programme is helping to prevent trafficking of girls and women from South Asia. We have also supported the work of the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, who has visited source countries and identified further opportunities for prevention activity. Our world-leading Transparency in Supply Chains provision in the Modern Slavery Act 2015 will encourage business to eradicate slavery from global supply chains.

Deportation: EU Nationals

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many nationals of other EU members states have won appeals to prevent their deportation in each of the last 10 years.

James Brokenshire: The table below shows the number of EEA foreign national offenders who have won their appeal against deportation over the last 10 years.Calendar YearNo of Appeals allowed2006692007402008352009492010110201112120121522013130201483201559Total852 (1) All figures quoted have been derived from management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols.(2) A foreign national offender (FNO) is someone who is not a British citizen and has been remanded in custody, convicted, and given a custodial sentence in the United Kingdom for any offence. An FNO can be convicted and have served their sentence while on remand, so may not have been sent to prison.(3) Figures relate to main applicants only and exclude dependants.(4) Figures relate to appeals lodged between 1 January 2006 and 31 December 2015. Appeal outcomes may have been reached in the same or in subsequent years.(5) Appeal Allowed figures only show the final appeal outcome and do not include any previous appeal outcomes for that individual case. They include those determined in both the Lower and Upper Tiers.The table below shows the total number of EEA foreign national offenders removed over last the 10 years. Calendar YearEEA FNO Removals2006480200752320086332009748201093320111,14720121,65320132,12120142,96220153,310(1) The figures quoted have been derived from management information from the Home Office databases and are therefore provisional and subject to change. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols.(2) A Foreign National Offender (FNO) is defined as an individual with a criminal case on the Home Office's Case Information Database, and may include individuals with asylum cases.(3) Total EEA FNO removals figures relate to those cases that have been deported, administratively removed or voluntarily departed from UK.

Deportation: EU Nationals

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many nationals of other EU member states are awaiting deportation from the UK.

James Brokenshire: The removal of foreign national offenders (FNOs) has been increasing year on year since 2010. In 2015, 5,602 FNOs were removed, the highest number in a year since records began in 2009.As of December 2015, there were 4,217 EEA foreign national offenders awaiting deportation.(1) The figures quoted have been derived from management information from the Home Office databases and are therefore provisional and subject to change. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols.(2) A Foreign National Offender (FNO) is defined as an individual with a criminal case on the Home Office's Case Information Database (CID) and may include individuals with asylum cases.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many nationals from other EU member states have (a) applied and (b) been accepted for permanent residency in the UK in each of the last 10 years.

James Brokenshire: The available published information is of decisions on applications for documents certifying permanent residence for EU nationals. These data are shown in the table below for the period 2005 to 2014.Corresponding data for 2015 will be published on 26th May 2016. Grant and refusal of Documents certifying permanent residence for European Union nationalsYearDocuments certifying permanent residence - grantedDocuments certifying permanent residence - refusedDocuments certifying permanent residence - invalid applicationOtherDocuments certifying permanent residence - total decisions20056,6391,432z4258,49620065,3668725816,32420073,9326540364,62220081,747513262,26820096,0267752206,82320109,4261,53601410,976201111,6797273,13820615,75020128,5241,0606,201615,791201314,4819,3111,8491125,65220149,7443,5161,585914,854Source:Immigration Statistics October to December 2015, Home Office, table ee_02.https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/502000/eea-q4-2015-tabs.odsz: Not applicable.May include a small number of Croatian nationals in 2013 before their accession to the EU in July of that year.EU and EEA nationals are not required to apply for documentation to certify their right to residence in the United Kingdom, but may find it useful to do so in certain circumstances.Information on decisions in applications for residence documentation from EEA nationals and their family members are published in the European Economic Area table ee_02 in the Home Office’s Immigration Statistics release. The latest edition, Immigration Statistics: October to December 2015 is available from the Library of the House and on the GOV.UK statistics web pages at: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release .

Asylum: Albania

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Albanian women (a) with (b) without children claimed asylum in the UK in each year since 2012; and how many of those women were subsequently removed from the UK.

James Brokenshire: Our records indicate the following claims in the 4 years from 2012:Claim Raised DateWith ChildrenWithout ChildrenGrand Total2012147107254201326320346620142982425402015278323601Grand Total9868751,861  Of these claims the following were removed: Application/Raised DateWith ChildrenWithout Children20126192013123020145272015110Grand Total 24  86   CaveatsThe data has been sourced by searching for claims based on the main asylum claimant and has not used data relating to dependant .The parameters of the search are claims raised between 01 January 2012 and 31 December 2015 where the claimant is female, has dependant under 18 years of age or no dependants.Data does not include withdrawn or void applications.This is provisional management information that is subject to change. It has not been assured to the standard of Official Statistics.

Human Trafficking: Females

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many women referred to the National Referral Mechanism for trafficking victims were subsequently removed from the UK in each year since 2012.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 22 March 2016



Year ReferredTotalSubsequentlyRemoved 201262645 201383948 20141,09544 20151,33814 Data refreshed 09March 2016Data shows number of women referrals recorded on the Case Immigration Database since Jan 2012, broken down by year of referral at the reasonable grounds stage.Removed subsequently shows the people removed after their referral, the removal might have occurred in subsequent years.Voluntary returns consist of Assited Voluntary Returns, Notified Voluntary Departures, and Confirmed Voluntary Departures.The figures quoted have been derived from management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change.This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols.

Visas

Ruth Smeeth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which companies have been issued with more than 50 Tier 2 (ICT) visas in a calendar year for each of the last five years; and how many visas for each such company were issued.

James Brokenshire: A list of the sponsors that have assigned more than 50 Tier 2 (ICT) Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) in a calendar year for each of the last five years, which also provides the figures of how many of those CoS were used in support of an individual Tier 2 (ICT) application, are to be placed in the House Library.To break these figures down further into in and out of country applications, and whether the application was successful would require manual intervention and would exceed cost limits.

Cannabis

Mr Nick Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of people using cannabis in the UK for medicinal purposes; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Nick Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department provides to police forces on dealing with offenders who use cannabis to treat a serious medical condition.

Karen Bradley: The Home Office does not collect data on this.Decisions on disposal options for those who possess cannabis for any reason are an operational matter for the police and the Crown Prosecution Service.

Cannabis

Mr Nick Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many personal importation licences have been granted to non-EU citizens travelling to the UK with cannabis-based medication in each of the last five years.

Mr Nick Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many personal importation licences have been granted to EU citizens travelling to the UK with cannabis-based medication in each of the last five years.

Karen Bradley: No personal import licences for cannabis based medication or any other schedule 1 substances have been granted in the last five years for either EU or non-EU citizens. Cannabis and preparations of cannabis are controlled Class B drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and listed in Schedule 1 to the Misuse of Drugs 2001 Regulations (MDR).The Home Office operates a policy of issuing personal import licenses, in limited circumstances, to those travelling with controlled drugs listed in Schedule 2 – 4 (Part I) of the MDR and which are prescribed for personal use. This policy does not apply to Schedule 1 substances.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Turkey: Human Rights

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the human rights situation in Turkey during negotiations on the proposed EU-Turkey refugee deal.

Mr David Lidington: I refer my Rt Hon. Friend to the Written Ministerial Statement made by the Prime Minister, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) on 8 March 2016 which detailed his discussions, including on human rights issues, with his EU counterparts during negotiations on the proposed EU-Turkey deal. In addition, in the conclusions adopted by the European Council at its meeting on 17-18 March, the EU reiterated that it expects Turkey to respect the highest standards when it comes to democracy, rule of law and respect of fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression.

Yemen: Military Intervention

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the political and security situation in Yemen since the recent airstrikes by the Saudi Military; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Saudi Arabia and the Coalition have played a crucial role in reversing the military advance of the Houthis and forces loyal to former president Saleh. Coalition and Government of Yemen military gains must now be used to drive forward the political process. We welcome the reports of calming along the Saudi/Yemen border and prisoner releases. A political solution is the best way to bring long-term stability to Yemen and end the conflict. We are working closely with the UN to encourage parties to meet again and engage in good faith, without preconditions, and to respect future ceasefires.

Maryam Rajavi

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will invite Maryam Rajavi to visit Parliament and the UK.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Maryam Rajavi remains excluded from the UK and Her Majesty's Government has no plans to invite her to visit the UK.

Germany: Politics and Government

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the political and security situation in Germany since the detonation of a car bomb in Berlin on 15 March 2016; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Lidington: The German authorities continue to investigate the apparent bomb attack on a car in Berlin on 15 March. The investigating authorities have stated that their investigation so far suggests that organised crime, rather than terrorism, was the background to the incident.

Overseas Aid

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department has made towards meeting the International Aid Transparency Initiative's standards to date.

Mr David Lidington: In March 2013 the Government published an implementation plan outlining how we intended to achieve International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) compliance without compromising the safety and security of the UK, our staff and our partners or without compromising our diplomatic relations with other countries. Since then we have been working towards achieving compliance with the UK Aid Transparency Guarantee. All published Foreign and Commonwelath Office Official Development Assistance information can be found on https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/official-development-assistance-oda--2

Overseas Aid

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has a proposed timeline by which it will publish all data on contractors and suppliers used in the disbursement of ODA in accordance with the UK Aid Transparency Guarantee.

Mr David Lidington: As stated in our International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) implementation plan published in March 2013 we are committed to complying with the IATI standards and UK Aid Guarantee whilst maintaining the safety and security of the UK, our staff our partners or compromising our diplomatic relations with other countries. This duty of care extends to our contractors and suppliers and whilst we are keen to be as transparent as possible we do not wish to jeopardise the lives and security of people or companies we work with. At present there is no timeline for publication as we are still determining if and how we can do this in a safe, secure and sustainable manner.

Iraq: Politics and Government

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the risk of increased suppression of demonstrations, civil society organisations, and of threats to Iraqi citizens from Iraqi government forces and militias.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We are following demonstrations by civil society organisations which are currently taking place in Iraq. These follow large demonstrations which took place during summer 2015. We welcome the overwhelmingly peaceful nature of these demonstrations and the measured manner in which they have been policed. Demonstrators commented on the good treatment by and positive interaction of the Iraqi Security Forces. This is in stark contrast to 2011 when lethal force was used against demonstrators. We are also following similar demonstrations in Iraqi Kurdistan.However, we are concerned by recent reports alleging that Iraqi Security Forces, Kurdish Security Forces, Iraqi Popular Mobilisation Forces and militias have committed human rights abuses and violations during recent military operations. We have been clear that Iraqi forces need to do everything they can to protect civilians and demonstrate that they are fighting on behalf of all Iraq’s communities. Prime Minister Abadi and Kurdish Regional President Barzani have committed to investigating all reports and ensuring those responsible are held to account. We regularly underline with the Government of Iraq and Kurdistan Regional Government the importance of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Iraq: Politics and Government

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what financial support and other support his Department gives to civil society organisations, trades unions, charities and organisations devoted to democracy building in Iraq.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We continue to support Prime Minister Abadi in his efforts to deliver the inclusive government, reconciliation and reform needed to give all Iraqi citizens a stake in the future of their country, and unite them against Daesh.Through our Conflict, Security and Stability Fund, we are supporting a number of projects designed to strengthen democratic institutions in Iraq. This includes support for Global Partners Governance, who are working to strengthen the Iraqi parliament, enhance legislative processes and improve coordination between central and local government.

Uganda: Elections

Ian C. Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the conduct of the election in Uganda on 18 February 2016.

James Duddridge: I commend the people of Uganda for turning out in large numbers to cast their vote on 18 February 2016 and for their determination to participate in the electoral process. However, the British Government has raised a series of concerns with the Government of Uganda about the conduct of the elections and the post-election environment. These include serious delays to the opening of polling stations, restrictions on social media access and the continuing harassment and intimidation of members of the opposition and journalists by the Uganda Police Force.These issues were also reflected in the EU and Commonwealth Election Observation Missions' preliminary statements of 20 February which we fully endorse. I urge the Government of Uganda to comprehensively address all the issues raised in the Election Observation Missions' reports.With international partners we continue to urge all sides to show restraint in the post election period, to abide by the rule of law and to settle election related disputes through the proper legal channels. We will continue to monitor the situation closely.

South Sudan: Peace Negotiations

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will take steps to ensure that Salva Kiir and Riek Machar are included in UN Security Council-authorised sanctions imposed on generals obstructing the peace efforts in South Sudan.

James Duddridge: Our efforts are focussed on ensuring President Kiir and Riek Machar implement the peace agreement, starting with the formation of the transitional government. We will continue to assess the need for targeted sanctions against South Sudan’s political and military leaders. We strongly support a UN arms embargo for South Sudan and are actively pursuing this with our UN Security Council partners.

Attorney General

Sentencing

Tom Pursglove: To ask the Attorney General, how many unduly lenient sentences were given out to (a) British nationals, (b) non-British EU nationals and (c) nationals from outside the EU in each of the last three years.

Robert Buckland: The nationality of the offenders referred to the court is not collated centrally and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.

Attorney General: Security Guards

Catherine West: To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the Answer of 16 March 2016 to Question 30579, which outsourced providers the Law Offices use for security services; and if he will request information from those providers on the rate of pay for security guards providing services to his Department.

Robert Buckland: The available information is detailed in the following tables. Law Officers’  DepartmentContracted security providers Security Guards hourly pay ratesAttorney General’s OfficeAmeyBetween £8.95 and £11.64 per hourCrown Prosecution ServiceBilfinger Europa Facility Management LimitedBetween £8.09 and £10.31 per hour   Law Officers’  DepartmentContracted security providers Security Guards hourly pay ratesGovernment Legal Department1MITIE (One Kemble Street office, London)Between £12.51 and £15.57 per hourMITIE (Southern House office, Croydon)Between £7.75 and £9.73Walford Security (Riverside Chambers, Taunton)£7.30 per hour1HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate are tenants in the One Kemble Street building.   The Serious Fraud Office is a tenant in a managed building where security guarding is outsourced by the landlord, the Canadian High Commission. The details of these arrangements are subject to the contract between the landlord, the Canadian High Commission, and the outsourced security provider. The decision about whether to publish details is a matter for the Canadian High Commission.

Attorney General: European Social Fund

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Attorney General, how much his Department received from the European Social Fund between 2007 and 2014; and how much his Department further received from the European Social Investment Fund from 2014 to the last month for which data is available.

Robert Buckland: The Law Officers’ Departments have not received any such funding.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Newspaper Press: Competition

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent assessment he has made of the extent of anti-competitive practices in the newspaper wholesale market.

Nick Boles: Responsibility for considering competition issues in the UK falls to the independent competition authorities. Since 2014 this role has been carried out by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The Office of Fair Trading (OFT), the predecessor of the CMA, conducted a detailed investigation of the operation of the distribution arrangements for the supply of newspapers and magazines in England and Wales over a number of years. In September 2009, the OFT decided that, although there might be competition concerns, developments benefiting consumers could come about from industry parties self-assessing their distribution agreements following competition guidance provided by the OFT. The OFT considered that it would not be feasible for the Competition Commission to obtain the necessary evidence at that time properly to assess how the supply chains were likely to evolve in the short term. This decision was reviewed and confirmed in March 2012 and was upheld by the Competition Appeal Tribunal in October 2012.

Education: Business

Michelle Donelan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what cross departmental work his Department has undertaken with the Department for Education to ensure that the needs of business are met by the education system.

Michelle Donelan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that businesses are able to recruit employees with the required level of skills.

Nick Boles: Officials from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Department for Education (DfE) are working together at all levels to deliver the ambitious 16+ skills reform programme, supporting me in my role as joint Minister. This programme aims to achieve the best possible outcomes for young people and adults and set high standards and promote strong qualifications. Our work is intended to ensure that people have the education, training and skills that business and employers need in order to be competitive and grow. Apprenticeships are our flagship policy for equipping people with the skills employers demand. For young people (aged 16-19), we want the new norm to be them considering university or an apprenticeship (or both, in the case of Degree Apprenticeships), as equally valid routes to a successful career. 2.6m apprentices have started since 2010 and we are committed to 3m starts by 2020. BIS and DfE are also supporting traineeships, which are designed to equip young people aged 16-24 with skills and experience that employers are looking for. Both apprenticeships and traineeships are joint DfE/BIS programmes that are managed through clear and collaborative joint working between both Departments and their Agencies. The Government’s ambitious reforms to the education system raise standards in English and maths, giving people the essential literacy and numeracy skills and qualifications that we know employers seek from new recruits more than any other qualifications. Learners who did not achieve a Level 2 in English and maths by the age of 16 are now required to continue to study those subjects post-16. We have also increased the level we expect people to study in apprenticeships and in traineeships and fully fund all adults to achieve their first English and maths GCSE. In addition, we are jointly leading a programme to reform Functional Skills qualifications to ensure they are robust and credible qualifications that develop the skills that employers need.

Debts: Statistics

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when and for what reason his Department stopped publishing statistics on household debt.

Nick Boles: Policy responsibility for consumer credit transferred from this Department to HM Treasury in November 2013. The Financial Policy Committee was established within the Bank of England by the Financial Services Act 2012 to ensure emerging risks and vulnerabilities across the financial system as a whole are identified, monitored and effectively addressed.

Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership: Scotland

Ms Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether (a) legal costs and (b) compensatory payments resulting from investor state dispute settlement claims relating to acts by the Scottish Government would be paid by the Scottish Government; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: If the UK were to lose a claim brought under the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism of a trade and investment treaty which relates to an act of a devolved administration, the memorandum of understanding between the UK and the devolved administrations would apply. This provides that the devolved administration would be responsible for the payment of legal costs and awards made by the tribunal to the extent that they arise from the failure of the devolved administration to implement or enforce an obligation or fail to meet their share of an international quota. However, the UK has a good record of creating the right environment for investors and treating them fairly – we have over 90 such agreements in place with other countries and there has never been a successful ISDS claim brought against the UK.

Pubs Code Adjudicator

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what representations he has received from pub tenants and pub tenant groups on the appointment of the new Pubs Code Adjudicator.

Anna Soubry: Holding answer received on 21 March 2016



As of 18 March 2016, my Department has received one piece of correspondence from an individual pub tenant and three pieces of correspondence from pub tenant groups on the appointment of the new Pubs Code Adjudicator, since the appointment was announced.

Minimum Wage

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which companies have failed to pay the national minimum wage since the introduction of the new naming and shaming regulations on 1 October 2013.

Nick Boles: Holding answer received on 22 March 2016



Since the introduction of the revised naming and shaming scheme, details of employers who have failed to pay the National Minimum Wage have been published on gov.uk. Details can be found via the following links: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-national-minimum-wage-offenders-named-and-shamed-february-2016 https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-national-minimum-wage-offenders-named-and-shamed-october-2015 https://www.gov.uk/government/news/national-minimum-wage-offenders-named-and-shamed (July 2015) https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-national-minimum-wage-offenders-named-and-shamed (March 2015) https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-names-and-shames-largest-ever-number-of-national-minimum-wage-offenders (February 2015) https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-names-and-shames-37-national-minimum-wage-offenders (January 2015) https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-names-employers-who-fail-to-pay-the-national-minimum-wage (November 2014) https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-names-employers-who-fail-to-pay-minimum-wage (June 2014) https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-gets-tough-with-employers-failing-to-pay-minimum-wage (February 2014)

Coal: Russia

Rebecca Pow: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which coal mining projects in Russia have been supported by UK Export Finance since 2011.

Anna Soubry: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Coal: Export Credit Guarantees

Rebecca Pow: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which coal mining projects are being supported by UK Export Finance.

Anna Soubry: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department for International Development

Department for International Development: Accountancy

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of her Department spending was paid to the so-called big 4 accounting firms in each since 2010; and what proportion of her Department spending was managed by the so-called big 4 accounting firms in each year since 2010.

Justine Greening: Detail on all DFID spend is available via our departmental website.

Department for International Development: European Social Fund

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much funding her Department received from the European Social Fund (a) between 2007 and 2014 and (b) from 2014 to the last month for which data is available.

Mr Desmond Swayne: My Department has not received any funding from the European Social Fund.

Money Laundering: EU Law

Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate her Department has made of the number of its senior civil servants who will potentially fall under the provisions of the Fourth EU Money Laundering Directive, 2015/849; and what assessment she has made of which of her Department's agencies or other public bodies will potentially be classed as holding a prominent public function for the purposes of that directive.

Mr Desmond Swayne: Under the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, which will be transposed into national law by June 2017, a politically exposed person is one who has been entrusted with a prominent public function domestically or by a foreign country. This would include some senior civil servants, such as ambassadors and chargés d'affaires. The Government's view is that the Directive permits a risk-based approach to the identification of whether an individual is a politically exposed person and, when identified, the Directive enables the application of different degrees of enhanced measures to reflect the risks posed. The Government will be setting out this view in a consultation which will be published shortly.The changes proposed under the Directive should not prevent any individual in this category from gaining or maintaining access to financial services. The Treasury regularly raises these issues with financial institutions and the regulator, and we encourage financial institutions to take a proportionate, risk-based approach when applying these measures.

Department for Education

Social Services: Children

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which children's services departments are rated as (a) outstanding, (b) good, (c) requiring improvement and (d) inadequate; and which such departments are subject to intervention measures.

Nick Gibb: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 12 January 2016.The correct answer should have been:

Ofsted have run a number of pilot inspections since 2010:5 multi-agency child protection inspection pilots;2 joint (with CQC) children looked after inspection pilots;2 Integrated inspection pilots; and1 Joint targeted area inspection, undertaken in November/December 2015.Following the pilot in November/December 2015, Ofsted intends to conduct up to six Joint Targeted Area Inspections by the summer of 2016.There are 152 local authority children’s services departments. Of these three are rated ‘outstanding’, 53 are rated ‘good’, 39 36 are rated ‘adequate’, 75 39 are rated ‘Requires improvement’ and 21 are rated ‘Inadequate’. A table that has been attached to this answer sets out the most recent Ofsted rating for each local authority and indicates whether the authority is subject to intervention for its children’s social care services. All local authorities rated as ‘Inadequate’ are subject to intervention measures.


Table of Ofsted Inspection Ratings as at 11 1 2016
(Word Document, 177 KB)




Table of Ofsted Inspection Ratings as at 11 1 2016
(Word Document, 41.29 KB)

Nick Gibb: Ofsted have run a number of pilot inspections since 2010:5 multi-agency child protection inspection pilots;2 joint (with CQC) children looked after inspection pilots;2 Integrated inspection pilots; and1 Joint targeted area inspection, undertaken in November/December 2015.Following the pilot in November/December 2015, Ofsted intends to conduct up to six Joint Targeted Area Inspections by the summer of 2016.There are 152 local authority children’s services departments. Of these three are rated ‘outstanding’, 53 are rated ‘good’, 39 36 are rated ‘adequate’, 75 39 are rated ‘Requires improvement’ and 21 are rated ‘Inadequate’. A table that has been attached to this answer sets out the most recent Ofsted rating for each local authority and indicates whether the authority is subject to intervention for its children’s social care services. All local authorities rated as ‘Inadequate’ are subject to intervention measures.


Table of Ofsted Inspection Ratings as at 11 1 2016
(Word Document, 177 KB)




Table of Ofsted Inspection Ratings as at 11 1 2016
(Word Document, 41.29 KB)

Children in Care: Finance

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what financial support her Department has provided to fostering services in each year from 2011 to 2015; and how much that funding was for looked after child in each of those years.

Edward Timpson: Local authority (LA) funding for the provision of children’s services, including fostering services, is provided by the Department for Communities and Local Government. However, LAs are required to submit annual budget and outturn statements about their actual spending to the Secretary of State for Education. The total LA expenditure on looked after children (including fostering), based upon the section 251 out turn statements, are set out below for each financial year between2011 - 2015: 2011-12 (£000s)2012-13 (£000s)2013-14 (£000s)2014-15 (£000s)Looked After Children£3,383,664£3,495,626£3,661,327£3,768,523Fostering£1,376,869£1,477,678£1,515,352£1,540,324 Since the introduction of the Children’s Social Care Innovation Programme in October 2013, the Department is funding the following programmes relating to supporting fostering:The £100 million Children’s Social Care Innovation Programme is currently supporting 53 projects in the development, testing and spreading of more effective ways of supporting children and families who need help from children’s social care services. The programme is providing funding to projects which have elements that support foster services including matching, specialist foster placements and foster family support and training. Achieving for Children (£1.1 m) to develop a new approach to supporting adolescents in, and on the edge of, care across the two boroughs of Richmond and Kingston. This will draw together specialist fostering placements, a children’s home and a family intervention team using a new, consistent training programme ‘Better by Design’ across all of these elements. Action for Children (up to £3.3m) to work with Barnet, Harrow and Hounslow councils to run a suite of evidence based programmes (functional family therapy, multi-systemic therapy and multi-dimensional treatment foster care) to transform the support available to adolescents in West London. The Fostering Network (£1.6m) to import and adapt the successful mockingbird family model of fostering from the US to the UK. Mockingbird clusters a group of 10 foster carers around a ‘hub’ home. This hub, led by an experienced foster carer, provides respite support and short breaks to the carers in the cluster. All of the carers receive shared training and the carers and young people within a cluster meet regularly, engage in activities and get to know and support each other. The National Implementation Service (£4.1m) to hot-house, test and build the sustainability of evidence-based interventions in the UK – including multi-systemic therapy and RESuLT (a therapeutic training programme for residential care staff). Four sites have been specially funded to implement KEEP Safe, a training and support programme for foster carers who look after teenagers. Match Fostercare (£781k) to take on delegated statutory social work responsibilities for children in foster care from several local authorities. They believe this will reduce duplication and bureaucracy and provide a better service to children. NSPCC (£1m) to introduce the New Orleans intervention model in South London. The model aims to transform delivery and joint commissioning in children’s social work and CAMHS teams in relation to children aged 0 to 5 years who are in foster care due to maltreatment. Sheffield and South Yorkshire Councils (£1.2m) to develop a sub-regional delivery model for young people experiencing or at risk of child sexual exploitation. This will include recruitment, development and support of specialist foster carers to provide safe placements for young people across South Yorkshire. Local authorities involved are Sheffield, Barnsley, Rotherham and Doncaster. Other partners are LSCBs in these areas and South Yorkshire police. Further details about these and other Innovation Programme funded projects can be found here:http://springconsortium.com/projects-being-funded/

Foster Care: Finance

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when her Department plans to announce national minimum fostering allowances for 2016-17.

Edward Timpson: The recommended national minimum allowance rates for fostering for 2016-17 will be published before the end of the financial year on GOV.UK.

Department for Education: European Social Fund

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department received from the European Social Fund (a) between 2007 and 2014 and (b) from 2014 to the last month for which data is available.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The Department for Education was not directly in receipt of programme funding from the European Social Fund. The European Social Fund programme for England that operated from 2007 to 2013 (extended to 2015) did, however, include monies for young people aged 14-19 who were not in education, employment or training or who were at risk of being so. This funding was administered initially by the Learning and Skills Council. From 2010 to July 2015, the funds have been administered by the Skills Funding Agency on behalf of the Young People’s Learning Agency and then on behalf of the Education Funding Agency. Given the nature of this European Social Fund programme operated by arm’s length bodies across a number of departments, without in depth analysis it is not possible to attribute funding for the period requested to particular departments. Such information will, however, be available in the Skills Funding Agency’s evaluation of the programme which will be published later this year.

Money Laundering: EU Law

Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number of its senior civil servants who will potentially fall under the provisions of the Fourth EU Money Laundering Directive, 2015/849; and what assessment she has made of which of her Department's agencies or other public bodies will potentially be classed as holding a prominent public function for the purposes of that directive.

Nick Gibb: Under the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, which will be transposed into national law by June 2017, a politically exposed person is one who has been entrusted with a prominent public function domestically or by a foreign country. This would include some senior civil servants, such as ambassadors and chargés d'affaires. The Government's view is that the Directive permits a risk-based approach to the identification of whether an individual is a politically exposed person and, when identified, the Directive enables the application of different degrees of enhanced measures to reflect the risks posed. The Government will be setting out this view in a consultation which will be published shortly.The changes proposed under the Directive should not prevent any individual in this category from gaining or maintaining access to financial services. The Treasury regularly raises these issues with financial institutions and the regulator, and we encourage financial institutions to take a proportionate, risk-based approach when applying these measures.

Academies

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has for the role of the local education authority in the provision of state education after the conversion of state-maintained schools to academies.

Edward Timpson: As set out in the Department’s recently published White Paper, ‘Educational Excellence Everywhere’, in a fully academised system, local authorities (LAs) will have more clearly defined responsibilities in representing the interests of pupils and parents. LA’s education responsibilities will focus on:Ensuring every child has a school placeEnsuring the needs of vulnerable pupils are metActing as champions for all parents and families Further information on the fully academised system and the role of local authorities can be found on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/educational-excellence-everywhere

Sixth Form Education

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support her Department provides to 16 to 18 year old pupils eligible for the pupil premium to ensure that they can access sixth form education if it is not available in their local authority area.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her policy is on the maximum travelling time for a 16 to 18 year-old pupil to access sixth form education if it is not available in their local authority area; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The statutory responsibility for transport to education and training for 16- to 19-year-olds rests with local authorities, including those students who attend school or college in a neighbouring local authority area. Most students receive a discount or concession but it is for local authorities, along with local transport providers and schools or colleges, to decide whether to provide support and which students are eligible. These decisions are best made locally in light of local needs, the resources available, and other local circumstances. The 16 to 19 Bursary Fund is also available to support young people with the costs associated with attending education or training, and transport is the biggest single area of expenditure for which this fund is used. Schools and colleges are responsible for deciding how to distribute their bursary allocations to students, and for establishing what criteria to use. Local authorities are encouraged to take travelling times into account when considering post-16 transport arrangements. There is an expectation of 75 minutes as a maximum travelling time each way to and from school or college but this is not a mandatory requirement.

Mental Health: Primary Education

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that schools take steps to promote the mental well-being of primary school students when they undertake Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 examinations.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Good mental health and wellbeing is a key priority for this Government. We have high aspirations for all children and want them to be able to fulfil their potential. Schools should consider how to provide appropriate support to their pupils, based on their individual circumstances, as part of a ‘whole-school’ approach. We have provided schools with a range of resources to support them in promoting mental wellbeing. We have funded guidance and age-appropriate lesson plans on teaching mental health in PSHE. At KS1 and 2 the lesson plans include teaching children how to describe emotions, talk about anxiety and worries, and develop coping strategies. Teachers and other staff can access MindEd, a free online portal which provides information about specific mental health problems and how to support them.Other resources include guidance on mental health and behaviour and the provision of counselling in schools. However, we recognise that teachers are not mental health professionals which is why we are contributing £1.5m to a joint pilot between schools and specialist mental health services, to ensure pupils have timely access to appropriate specialist support where needed.

Ministry of Justice

Ministry of Justice: Contracts

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which contracts with his Department MTCNovo are currently (a) bidding for and (b) have successfully bid for; and what role TDPi consultancy  play in awarding those contracts.

Caroline Dinenage: The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice, Minister for Prisons, Probation and Rehabilitation made a Written Ministerial Statement to the House on 14 March which can be found at the following link: http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2016-03-14/HCWS619/. We take all allegations of impropriety extremely seriously and have launched an immediate investigation with the support of Cabinet Office. I will update the House once its work is complete. The Department publishes all opportunities to bid for contracts over £10,000 on Contracts Finder at the following link: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search. The Department does not disclose details of who is bidding in an ongoing competition, as this is commercially sensitive. Once a contract has been awarded, winning bidders are published via Contracts Finder. MTCNovo was successful in bidding in competitions for the ownership of two Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs). Details can be found at the following links: Thames Valley CRC: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/1016ac86-f36e-47bb-a73b-63d0f1f42059London CRC: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/32194588-7236-4e57-8e96-f780b11ec66f MTCNovo has also been awarded the contract to run Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre (STC), which will begin on 5 May 2016. Award details will be published on Contracts Finder in due course.

Equal Pay: Tribunals

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) women and (b) men brought equal pay tribunal cases against their employers in each year since 2010.

Mr Shailesh Vara: Information on the number of claims received by the Employment Tribunal is recorded in the official published statistics at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics. The table below shows the number of equal pay claims accepted by the Employment Tribunal for each calendar year since 2010. Calendar YearGender  FemaleMale201029,7544,083201124,0493,647201215,6974,340201318,3985,03920146,0521,50920156,42313,312

Slavery: Compensation

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many compensation orders were made by HM Courts and Tribunals Service against people convicted of modern slavery offences in each of the last five years; and how much compensation was awarded to victims of modern slavery related to such compensation orders in each of those years.

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many reparation orders have been made by HM Courts and Tribunals Service against people convicted of modern slavery offences under section 10 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015; and how much compensation has been awarded to victims of modern slavery related to such reparation orders.

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many reparation orders have been made by HM Courts and Tribunals Service against people convicted of modern slavery offences in each of the last six months.

Mike Penning: The information requested can be found in the CJS Outcomes by Offence data tool at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2014Data for 2015 and 2016 will be published in due course.

Scotland Office

Renewable Energy: Scotland

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the renewables industry in Scotland of changes to renewables subsidies.

David Mundell: Scotland’s renewable sector has seen record levels of growth and investment. The action we are taking to protect bill payers now puts the industry back on a sustainable footing for the future, which is also in the interest of investors.

Oil: Prices

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with Ministers of the Scottish Government on the effect of declining oil prices on public finances in Scotland.

David Mundell: I regularly engage with Ministers of the Scottish Government on a wide range of economic matters. As last week’s independent OBR estimates show, revenues from the North Sea are forecast to be negative for the next three years. March’s GERS figures show Scotland’s public spending was almost £15 billion more than its tax revenue in the last financial year. Thankfully, the north east of Scotland can rely on the broad shoulders of the United Kingdom to see it through these difficult times.

Housing Benefit: Supported Housing

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what assessment the Government has made of the potential effect on supported accommodation in Scotland of the proposed cap on housing benefit costs across all types of social housing.

Priti Patel: We have commissioned an evidence review of supported housing which will include Scotland and Wales. The results of this research will help to determine any appropriate protections from the planned cap on housing benefit.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Broadband: Urban Areas

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to deliver hyper-speed broadband coverage in urban areas.

Mr Edward Vaizey: As announced at the 2016 Budget, the Government intends to support the development of the ultrafast market by establishing, in partnership with the private sector, a new broadband investment fund to support the growth of alternative network developers by providing greater access to finance. Ofcom also recently announced its strategy to promote large-scale roll-out of new ultrafast broadband networks as part of its Digital Communications Review. The Government is committed to ensuring that ultrafast broadband should be available to nearly all UK premises, as soon as practicable. We are proposing to take action in a number of areas which will help support existing commercial investment plans and encourage the ultrafast market to develop further, including reforming the Electronic Communications Code, the statutory framework governing rights of access to private land; implementing the Broadband Cost Reduction Directive to help reduce the cost of rolling out high speed broadband; reviewing the effectiveness of the fixed planning changes introduced in England in 2013 to determine whether they should be made permanent; and encouraging and supporting innovative approaches in street works which can lower the cost and speed up deployment of faster broadband.

Public Libraries: Staff

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what his Department's planned expenditure on workforce training for staff in public libraries is for (a) 2016-17, (b) 2017-18, (c) 2018-19 and (d) 2019-20.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what his Department's planned expenditure on workforce training for staff in public libraries was in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13, (d) 2013-14, (e) 2014-15 and (f) 2015-16 to date.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many public libraries have received funding from his Department to provide workplace training for their staff since 2010.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Public libraries are funded and run by local authorities. My Department has through Arts Council England’s Library Development Funding, which supports the development of public libraries in England including workforce training, provided £680,000 in 2012/13; £683,000 in 2013/14; £595,000 in 2014/15; and £744,000 in 2015/16. Workforce development is also one of the priorities of the Leadership for Libraries Taskforce, established in 2015 by my Department and the Local Government Association.

Public Libraries: Computers

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what his Department's planned expenditure on computer facilities for public libraries is for (a) 2016-17, (b) 2017-18, (c) 2018-19 and (d) 2019-20.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what his Department's expenditure on computer facilities for public libraries was in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13, (d) 2013-14, (e) 2014-15 and (f) 2015-16 to date.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many public libraries have received funding from his Department to provide computer facilities since 2010.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Public libraries are funded and run by local authorities. However, through the Government's development agency for public libraries, Arts Council England, funding is provided to support public libraries in England, some of which will fund computer facilities. Specific detail of this funding is not available. Future Arts Council England investment plans for public libraries will be developed following proposals from partner organisations.

Public Libraries: Internet

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to provide assistance to public libraries to address digital exclusion.

Mr Edward Vaizey: DCMS is engaging with national Digital Engagement partners to help users of public libraries get online and to tackle digital exclusion. Thanks to Government funding, over 99% of public libraries in England will provide free access to Wi-Fi from March 2016. BT and Barclays have worked together to provide free Wi-Fi in 100 libraries and community centres in deprived areas across England; and Lloyds Banking Group and Halifax Community Bank have piloted a scheme to match local branch staff with libraries to deliver basic digital skills training to adults in the UK. Tackling digital exclusion is also one of the priorities of the Leadership for Libraries Taskforce, established in 2015 by DCMS and the Local Government Association. The Taskforce has been working in partnership with the Tinder Foundation on new approaches through libraries to build digital skills in socially excluded, hard to reach groups and address digital exclusion.

Arts

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when his Department plans to publish its White Paper on the arts; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Edward Vaizey: We published our Culture White Paper today. I refer the hon Member to my Statement HCWS643.The white paper is attached and is in the library of the House.



DCMS The Culture White Paper
(PDF Document, 6.44 MB)

Football: Sportsgrounds

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many artificial football pitches in which locations have been supported by funding from his Department since May 2015.

David Evennett: In the last year, £39 million has been invested across the country on artificial grass pitches in Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Hampshire, London, Manchester, Devon, Essex, Staffordshire, West Riding, Middlesex, Wiltshire, Durham, Liverpool, Lincolnshire, Staffordshire, North Riding, Lancashire, Hertfordshire, Birmingham Northumberland, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Nottinghamshire, Surrey, Dorset, Cumberland and East Riding. Further details on the individual grants awarded are available from the Football Foundation. The Government is also investing £8 million over the next 4 years in Parklife, to increase the number of full-size publicly accessible artificial grass pitches in England by 50 per cent. The Football Association is matching government funding, with further contributions from the Premier League and Local Authorities in this new £200 million grassroots facilities investment programme.

Gaming Machines

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Triennial Review of gambling machine stakes and prize limits plans to consider the (a) effect on mental health and (b) other social and non-economic effects of fixed-odds betting terminals.

David Evennett: In April 2015 the previous Government introduced regulations which require authorisation of stakes over £50 on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals through a “verified account” or staff interaction. The Government published its evaluation of the £50 regulations on 21 January. The evaluation paper can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/evaluation-of-gaming-machine-circumstances-of-useamendment-regulations-2015 We will now consider the findings of the evaluation before deciding if there is a need for further action.

Governance and Regulation of the BBC Independent Review

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he plans to take in response to the findings of the Clementi Review into Governance and Regulation of the BBC; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Government will set out its plans for the future of the BBC in a White Paper in Spring.

Money Laundering: EU Law

Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate his Department has made of the number of its senior civil servants who will potentially fall under the provisions of the Fourth EU Money Laundering Directive, 2015/849; and what assessment he has made of which of his Department's agencies or other public bodies will potentially be classed as holding a prominent public function for the purposes of that directive.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Under the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, which will be transposed into national law by June 2017, a politically exposed person is one who has been entrusted with a prominent public function domestically or by a foreign country. This would include some senior civil servants, such as ambassadors and chargés d'affaires. The Government's view is that the Directive permits a risk-based approach to the identification of whether an individual is a politically exposed person and, when identified, the Directive enables the application of different degrees of enhanced measures to reflect the risks posed. The Government will be setting out this view in a consultation which will be published shortly.The changes proposed under the Directive should not prevent any individual in this category from gaining or maintaining access to financial services. The Treasury regularly raises these issues with financial institutions and the regulator, and we encourage financial institutions to take a proportionate, risk-based approach when applying these measures.

Department for Work and Pensions

Housing Benefits: Ethnic Groups

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes to housing benefit on black and minority ethnic communities.

Justin Tomlinson: The Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) requires the Minister to pay due regard to the need to: • eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct prohibited by the Act;• advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not; and• foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. When considering any housing benefit changes, Ministers pay due regard to this duty.

Personal Independence Payment: Wales

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in (a) Wales and (b) each postcode area in Wales will see a reduction in their personal independence payments as a result of changes to the assessment criteria announced on 11 March 2016.

Justin Tomlinson: As confirmed by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State in his statement to the House on 21 March, the proposed changes to PIP will not be going ahead. We spend around £50bn every year on benefits alone to support people with disabilities or health conditions, with spending on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) having increased by more than £3 billion since 2010. The government is committed to talking to disabled people, their representatives, healthcare professionals and employers to ensure the welfare system works better with the health and social care systems and provides help and support to those who need it most.

PAYE: EEA Nationals

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the methodology and data sources set out in his Department's paper, Benefit claims by EEA nationals, published in November 2015, how many individuals recorded in government computer systems who were nationals of another EEA member country at time of registration for a national insurance number and are recorded as having arrived in 2004-05 using the earlier of arrival date and NINO registration date have paid PAYE income tax in each year from 2005 to 2015.

Justin Tomlinson: Holding answer received on 21 March 2016



The information requested is not available in a collated format and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

National Insurance: EEA Nationals

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the methodology and data sources set out in his Department's paper, Benefit claims by EEA nationals, published in November 2015, how many individuals recorded in government computer systems who were nationals of another EEA member country at time of registration for a national insurance number and are recorded as having arrived in 2004-05 using the earlier of arrival date and NINO registration date have registered any form of activity in the relevant systems, including payments of other tax or tax in respect of self-employment, in each year from 2005 to 2015.

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the methodology and data sources set out in his Department's paper, Benefit claims by EEA nationals, published in November 2015, how many individuals recorded in government computer systems who were nationals of another EEA member country at time of registration for a national insurance number and are recorded as having arrived in 2004-05 using the earlier of arrival date and NINO registration date have paid national insurance contributions in each year from 2005 to 2015.

Justin Tomlinson: Holding answer received on 21 March 2016



The information requested is not available.

Personal Independence Payment: Wales

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Wales his Department has contacted to notify them of their transfer from disability living allowance to personal independence payments.

Justin Tomlinson: The Department only holds data on the number of Full PIP Rollout claimants they have notified/invited to claim since July 2015. Information on the number of natural reassessment claims notified since October 2013 is not held within our systems. Therefore the information you have requested is not available. Information on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claim registrations for both new claims and reassessed claims (for those previously in receipt of Disability Living Allowance (DLA)) are available at a Regional, Parliamentary Constituency and Local Authority level and published on Gov.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/personal-independence-payment-statistics.

Personal Independence Payment: Wales

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what average time was taken for personal independence payment assessments for claimants with (a) non-terminal and (b) terminal conditions to be completed in (i) Wales and (ii) each postcode area in Wales in each of the last three financial years.

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Wales were awarded personal independence payments in each of the last three years.

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Wales have (a) been unsuccessful in claims for personal independence payments and (b) had personal independence payments stopped in each of the last three years.

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Wales on (a) standard mobility, (b) enhanced mobility, (c) standard daily living and (d) enhanced daily living were receiving personal independence payments in each of the last three financial years.

Justin Tomlinson: Such information as is available on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claims in payment, registrations, clearances, awards and average clearance times for both new claims and reassessed claims (for those previously in receipt of Disability Living Allowance (DLA)) are available at a Regional, Parliamentary Constituency and Local Authority level and published on Gov.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/personal-independence-payment-statistics

Personal Independence Payment: Wales

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of personal independence payment assessments took place face-to-face in (a) Wales and (b) each postcode area in Wales in each of the last three financial years.

Justin Tomlinson: The information requested is not readily available, and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Department for Work and Pensions: Capita Business Services

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the value is of his Department's contract with Capita Business Services Ltd for assessing personal independent payments.

Justin Tomlinson: The available information may be found in Contract Finder via this link http://data.gov.uk/data/contracts-finder-archive/contract/740844/

Capita Business Services: Performance Standards

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what targets his Department has set for the performance by Capita Business Services Ltd on its provision of personal independence payment services in Wales.

Justin Tomlinson: The Department has agreed a range of performance measures with Capita Business Services Ltd. Specifically, targets have been agreed on the timescales for undertaking assessments, the quality of assessments, and the claimant experience.

State Retirement Pensions: Age

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential effect of increasing the state pension age on levels of life expectancy.

Justin Tomlinson: No such assessment has been made however the Pensions Act 2014 provides a statutory framework, which commits future governments to regular and structured review of the State Pension age at least once every six years. There is no conclusive evidence that working around State Pension age has an effect on life expectancy. There is a strong evidence base showing that employment is generally good for physical and mental health and well-being, and that overall, the beneficial effects of work outweigh the risks of work, and are greater than the harmful effects of long-term unemployment or prolonged sickness absence (Waddell and Burton 2006). Evidence further suggests that leaving the labour market early can be harmful to overall well-being with those who experience a decline in social interaction in retirement seeing a negative impact on their health.

Employment and Support Allowance: Disability

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to monitor the ongoing effect of changes to employment and support allowance on people with disabilities.

Priti Patel: The Department is committed to monitoring the impacts of its policies. We will monitor the impact of the ESA WRAC change through regular national statistics.

Personal Independence Payment: Poverty

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect on levels of poverty of the proposed reforms to personal independence payment in the Budget 2016.

Justin Tomlinson: As confirmed by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State in his statement to the House on 21 March, the proposed changes to PIP will not be going ahead. We spend around £50bn every year on benefits alone to support people with disabilities or health conditions, with spending on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) having increased by more than £3 billion since 2010. The government is committed to talking to disabled people, their representatives, healthcare professionals and employers to ensure the welfare system works better with the health and social care systems and provides help and support to those who need it most.

Universal Credit: Impact Assessments

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will conduct a revised impact assessment for universal credit on the effect of reforms to its design since 2012.

Priti Patel: Whilst there have been changes to Universal Credit since the impact assessment in 2012, these have not fundamentally altered the service, which remains on course to deliver stronger work incentives and simplicity in the welfare system.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that rules relating to under-occupancy do not affect households in which couples have to sleep in separate rooms due to medical appliances.

Justin Tomlinson: The High Court and Court of Appeal have accepted that disability, including situations where medical equipment is being used, does not necessarily prevent couples from being able to share a bedroom. Because of this administering a blanket exemption would be extremely difficult. In addition, an enhanced package of Discretionary Housing Payment funding (£870 million over 5 years) will enable Local Authorities to provide support to the most vulnerable claimants.

Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence: Written Questions

Steven Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on how many occasions his Department has not provided substantive answers to written parliamentary questions by stating that disclosure of the information would likely prejudice the capability, effectiveness, or security of our Armed Forces or Allies in this parliamentary session.

Penny Mordaunt: Since the start of the 2015-16 session of Parliament to 17 March 2016, 47 written parliamentary questions (PQs) tabled to the Ministry of Defence (MOD) were not answered because disclosure would have been likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness, or security of our Armed Forces or Allies. This figure represents 2% of the total number of 2,318 PQs answered by the MOD during that period.In 19 further PQs, only part of the answer was withheld so as to protect the capability, effectiveness, or security of our Armed Forces or Allies.

Armed Forces: Deployment

Tom Pursglove: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of UK military personnel have been deployed on (a) NATO, (b) UN and (c) EU-coordinated operations and training over the lpast 10 years.

Penny Mordaunt: The Strategic Defence and Security Review reaffirmed the UK's commitment to providing contributions to NATO, UN, and EU operations and exercises. However, the MOD does not hold the information in the format requested and it could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Ministry of Defence: Written Questions

Steven Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reasons his Department will not give a substantive answer to Parliamentary questions.

Mark Lancaster: Ministers answer Parliamentary Questions in accordance with the Ministerial Code which states that:"Ministers should be as open as possible with Parliament and the public, refusing to provide information only when disclosure would not be in the public interest, which should be decided in accordance with the relevant statutes and the Freedom of Information Act 2000". In addition, Parliamentary Questions may not receive a substantive answer if the information requested is not held, if providing the answer to a written question would incur disproportionate cost, if the answer contains personal or confidential information which is not appropriate for publication or if it is not possible to respond in the time available before prorogation.

Ministry of Defence: European Social Fund

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much funding his Department received from the European Social Fund (a) between 2007 and 2014 and (b) from 2014 to the last month for which data is available.

Mr Julian Brazier: None.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Service Charges

Ben Howlett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will take steps to increase the financial limit for the contribution of tenants to qualifying works as set out in paragraph 6 of the Service Charges (Consultation Requirements) (England) Regulations 2003.

Brandon Lewis: The Government is aware of concerns surrounding the financial threshold above which consultation on service charges must take place under section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (as amended by the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002). This was also referred to as part of the Competition and Markets Authority study into property management services. We have been working with stakeholders in the sector, including the Association of Residential Managing Agents, to consider what can be done to improve how section 20 works, including the financial threshold. The Government is awaiting the final set of recommendations from the Association and will respond to the Competition and Markets Authority study in the Autumn.

Non-domestic Rates

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will estimate how much revenue will be accrued from business rates in each local authority in each financial year to 2020.

Mr Marcus Jones: Local authority estimates of business rates yield for 2016-17 are available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/500899/NNDR1_2016-17_drop_down.xlsxEstimates for future years are not available.

Non-domestic Rates

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 1.160 of Budget 2016, what his policy is on providing compensation to local authorities for potential loss of income related to the planned reductions in business rates.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Wales Office

Wales Office: European Social Fund

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how much funding his Department received from the European Social Fund (a) between 2007 and 2014 and (b) from 2014 to the last month for which data is available.

Guto Bebb: The Wales Office has not received any funding from the European Social Fund (ESF). Implementation of ESF is the responsibility of the Welsh Government.

HM Treasury

Iron and Steel: Non-domestic Rates

Tom Pursglove: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential benefits and costs of a business rates holiday for the steel industry.

Mr David Gauke: The Government has worked hard to deliver on the steel industry’s key asks. We (a) secured state aid approval to compensate for energy costs, (b) secured flexibility over EU emissions regulations, (c) published guidance so that the true value of UK steel can be taken into account in major procurement decisions, and (d) continue to tackle unfair trading practices at an EU and an international level. Further, Budget 2016 confirmed that the annual indexation of business rates will switch from the Retail Price Index to be consistent with the main measure of inflation, currently the Consumer Prices Index, from April 2020 for all ratepayers, including the steel industry. This represents a cut every year from 2020 worth £370 million in 2020-21 and growing significantly thereafter.

Gift Aid

Margaret Hodge: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many non-taxpaying individuals have been required by HM Revenue and Customs to repay tax paid to charities under Gift Aid in the last (a) 12 months and (b) five years; and what the total value was of the required repayments in those periods.

Mr David Gauke: During the period between February 2015 to January 2016, HM Revenue and Customs recovered some £858,261.00. In 2014/15 it was £700,000, in 2013/14 £844,646.00 and in 2012/13 £398,020. All of these figures reflect amounts recovered from both non-taxpaying individuals and tax payers. We do not hold figures for periods before 2012/13.

Dorneywood: Gardens

Rachael Maskell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the staff who manage the gardens in Dorneywood country residence are employed as civil servants; whether such staff are enrolled under the civil service pension scheme; and under what terms and conditions such staff are employed with what pension entitlement.

Harriett Baldwin: Dorneywood is a charitable trust and its staff are employed by the charity. Therefore, Government keep no details of its staff’s pensions affairs.

Energy: VAT

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent representations he has made  to the EU Commission on the application of VAT to energy-saving materials.

Mr David Gauke: The Government is considering the responses to the consultation published following the judgement of the European Court of Justice and an announcement will be made in due course. In the meantime, all those energy savings products which are currently eligible for the reduced rate of VAT will remain eligible.

Tobacco: Smuggling

Hannah Bardell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what process HM Revenue and Customs uses to test for illicit tobacco products.

Hannah Bardell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, to what extent HM Revenue and Customs is dependent on tobacco manufacturers for the testing illicit tobacco products.

Hannah Bardell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what (a) policy and (b) operational reasons HM Revenue and Customs decided to pilot Codentify as a tobacco product authentication tool.

Hannah Bardell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which Ministers were involved in the decision for HM Revenue and Customs to pilot Codentify as a tobacco product authentication tool.

Hannah Bardell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HM Revenue and Customs conducted an open tender exercise to select the Codentify system for piloting as a tobacco product authentication tool.

Hannah Bardell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether officials of (a) HM Revenue and Customs, (b) Border Force and (c) trading standards services are being trained in the use of Codentify to authenticate tobacco products.

Hannah Bardell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the cost to the public purse is of (a) access by HM Revenue and Customs to the Codentify system to pilot its use for tobacco product authentication, (b) staff time to use that system and (c) other costs incurred through use of that system.

Hannah Bardell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to ensure that the Codentify system is not advantaged over other available systems in any future decision on tobacco product authentication systems to be used by his Department.

Damian Hinds: Tobacco products classified as ‘illicit’ in the UK include anything on which duty has not been paid but should have been paid. This includes counterfeit products, brands manufactured legally overseas but not legally sold in the UK, and genuine products originating in the UK and overseas but diverted from legitimate supply chains by criminals. Because of this, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) officers use a variety of ways to identify illicit product. Testing product authenticity is one mechanism. To test product authenticity, HMRC uses identifiers required by legislation, for example, Fiscal Marks which manufacturers are required to print on specified tobacco products to show they are UK duty paid, as well as voluntary tools used by the manufacturers. One such voluntary tool is Codentify. Codentify was developed and introduced by the major tobacco manufacturers on their own initiative through the Digital Coding and Tracking Association (DCTA). HMRC played no part in the development or introduction of the system nor did HMRC require that it be introduced. Codentify codes already feature on packs and are there regardless of any HMRC use of them. HMRC took a policy decision, in line with the commitment to tackle illicit tobacco, to examine whether these existing codes could provide a useful additional tool to help officers authenticate product in the field. The trial is concerned only with the use of Codentify for product authentication, and no other aspect of the system is being used or evaluated. Codentify requires no specialist equipment or training. Officers are provided with basic guidance and access to an online system. No charge is made for use of the system and, as no procurement was needed, there was no requirement for HMRC to run a tender exercise. As this is a trial only, no Ministerial approval was required or has been sought. A number of HMRC officers have been given access to the system and trained by HMRC colleagues. The time spent on this activity is minimal and is estimated to be less than one staff year in total. HMRC has explained the use of Codentify as a potential product authentication tool to colleagues in Border Force and Trading Standards. However, they have not provided training to any officers in those organisations. The EU Tobacco Products Directive introduces a requirement for a pan European security feature and track and trace systems. The European Commission, working with Member States, is considering proposals and have yet to determine any technical specifications, HMRC is aware of a wide range of potential track and trace and security feature solutions on the market. They are not evaluating, and, given the current position on the Directive, could not evaluate any products against its requirements. The aspects of Codentify being used are entirely separate from the requirements of the Directive. In accordance with regulatory requirements, when technical specifications are determined, HMRC will ensure that any evaluation against them ensures no unfair competitive advantage or obstacles to competition.

Social Services: Finance

Norman Lamb: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has put measures in place to ensure that funding raised through the two per cent precept levied by local government will be spent on adult social care.

Greg Hands: Council treasurers will need to certify that the additional revenue will be used to fund adult social care. The Secretary of State will review the arrangements each year as part of the process for setting referendum principles. These are approved by the House of Commons each year and will take into account the way councils have used the additional flexibility when doing so.

Treasury: Secondment

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff are seconded to his Department by (a) KPMG, (b) PricewaterhouseCoopers, (c) Deloitte and (d) Ernst & Young.

Harriett Baldwin: HM Treasury have the following secondments in as at 29th February 2016:- Deloitte Touche1Ernst and Young1KPMG1PriceWaterhouseCoopers1

Cathedrals: Repairs and Maintenance

Maria Eagle: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to pages 86 and 122 of the Budget 2016, why the fiscal impact of establishing the £20 million Cathedrals Repairs Fund is £10 million.

Greg Hands: Budget 2016 announced that the government will provide £20 million across 2016-17 and 2017-18 to extend the First World War Centenary cathedral repairs fund. £10 million of this is financed through new exchequer funding and listed in Table 2.1 on page 86 of the Budget. The remaining £10 million is financed from within the existing DCMS resource budget.

Public Finance

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the change in the debt to gross domestic product ratio in 2014-15 and 2015-16; and if he will make a statement.

Greg Hands: Public sector net debt is forecast to fall from 2016-17 to the end of the Parliament, reaching 77.2% of GDP by the end of 2019-20. The OBR’s latest forecast is that the level of cash debt at the end of 2015-16 will be £1591 billion, down from £1599 billion in its November forecast. Debt as a share of GDP is forecast to rise from 83.3% in 2014-15 to 83.7% of GDP at the end of 2015-16 because the economy is smaller in nominal terms in 2015-16 than forecast in November, largely due to lower inflation. The government has also delayed the sale of the remaining shares in Lloyds Banking Group as a result of market conditions.

Productivity

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the effect of changes in the participation rate on economic productivity; and if he will make a statement.

Greg Hands: Government action to reward work and reform benefits has delivered a strong labour market which has seen the employment rate grow more than any other G7 country since early 2010 (Q1), and in the three months to January it stood at 74.1 per cent – the highest since records began. The government believes it is possible to maintain a strong labour market and improve productivity performance, and this why it has set out a comprehensive programme of structural reform in the productivity plan – “Fixing the Foundations” – with further measures included in Budget 2016.

Immigration

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the effect of immigration on the UK's GDP in the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Greg Hands: Analysis undertaken by the independent Migration Advisory Committee in 2012 shows that higher levels of net migration will, all else equal, increase the growth rate of the potential labour supply and therefore the rate of growth of overall GDP.

Sanitary Protection: VAT

Alison Thewliss: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, who was involved in the process to select which charities would receive funding from the Tampon Tax Fund.

Mr David Gauke: ‘Showcase’ bids were identified, with the help of departmental expertise, that were innovative, in line with the aims of government policy, and likely to provide strong value for money. The bids selected represent a range of different initiatives to benefit women across the whole of the UK. Additionally, in recognition of the very high level of interest received, the government has also allocated funding to the Women’s Fund for Scotland, Comic Relief and Rosa who have specialist experience in this area, to disburse funding to a range of grassroots women’s organisations. These funds mean further awards will be made to a high number of charities in this sector.

Sanitary Protection: VAT

Alison Thewliss: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 1.144 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 and to paragraph 2.16 of the Budget 2016, for what reason only £12 million of the £15 million annual fund has been committed.

Mr David Gauke: As announced at Autumn Statement 2015, the Tampon Tax Fund is a £15 million annual fund to support women’s charities, equivalent to the amount of VAT raised on sanitary products. The Chancellor announced initial donations at Autumn Statement totalling £5m. Further grants totalling £12 million have been announced at this Budget. The Government has introduced legislation in the Finance Bill to enable the zero rate of VAT for women’s sanitary products.

Sanitary Protection: VAT

Alison Thewliss: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what criteria is applied when determining which charities should receive funding from the Tampon Tax Fund.

Mr David Gauke: ‘Showcase’ bids were identified, with the help of departmental expertise, that were innovative, in line with the aims of government policy, and likely to provide strong value for money. Additionally, in recognition of the very high level of interest received, the government has also allocated funding to the Women’s Fund for Scotland, Comic Relief and Rosa who have specialist experience in this area, to disburse funding to a range of grassroots women’s organisations. These funds mean further awards will be made to a high number of charities in this sector.

Immigration

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of immigration on the level of economic productivity over the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Greg Hands: As noted in the 2012 report by the Migration Advisory Committee the empirical literature suggests that the impact of migration on productivity may be mixed and heavily dependent on the type of migrant coming to the UK. Migrants may increase productivity either through a simple ‘batting average’ effect if they work in higher productivity roles relative to the average for non-migrants, or through increasing the productivity of UK workers through greater specialisation and knowledge transfer.

Treasury: Freedom of Information

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether all documents released by his Department as a result of Freedom of Information requests are placed on his Department's website.

Harriett Baldwin: A proportion of our responses are published on GOV.UK, which you can find at this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?departments%5B%5D=hm-treasury&publication_type=foi-releases.

Academies: Costs

Lucy Powell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 1.27 of Budget 2016, for what reason the full academisation of schools in England is not included in his Department's Budget 2016 policy costings report; and what costings his Department has related to that policy.

Greg Hands: The Budget ensured that the Department for Education is fully funded to support the additional costs of delivering a fully-academised school system. The additional funding committed to at the Budget is in addition to considerable funding allocated at the Spending Review, supporting further growth in the academies programme. The policy costings document published at the Budget sets out the assumptions and methodologies underlying costings for tax and AME policy decisions. It does not include DEL spending measures.

Treasury: Information Officers

Diana Johnson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many press officers are employed by his Department.

Harriett Baldwin: As stated in the most recent HM Treasury annual report and accounts (2014-15), the department’s communications during 2014-15 focused on ensuring the public and stakeholders understood changes to government economic and fiscal policy. The department continues to pursue a low cost communications approach, making full use of media relationships and social media.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Hydroelectric Power

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the viability of hydro pump storage energy solutions; and what support her Department makes available to that industry.

Andrea Leadsom: Holding answer received on 21 March 2016



Energy storage is one way to provide flexibility to the energy system, alongside demand side response, interconnection and smarter networks. We continue to assess the potential for all forms of energy storage, including pumped hydro, to benefit the UK energy system. More than £80m public sector controlled support has been committed to energy storage research, development and demonstration activities since 2012. This innovation funding has included DECC grant support for a UK pumped hydro storage developer to assess the potential location of new pumped hydro sites around Great Britain. The developer concluded that up to 15GW of novel pumped storage could be possible, using various criteria such as the presence of existing or potential reservoirs, grid connection distance and whether the site is in an environmentally sensitive area. Other pumped storage developers have independently identified over 1 GW of additional potential pumped storage. We are also investigating the potential barriers to deployment of energy storage and possible mitigating actions. We are focussing in the first instance on removing policy and regulatory barriers. DECC plans to issue a call for evidence on a smart systems route map in due course.

North Sea Oil: Termination of Employment

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many jobs were lost in the North Sea oil industry in each of the last two years.

Andrea Leadsom: According to figures taken from Oil and Gas UK’s latest Economic Report, it is estimated that over the course of 2015 there was a 15% reduction in jobs to 375,000 across the entire employment spectrum, including direct, indirect and induced jobs. For the previous year OGUK estimated that around 440,000 jobs were supported by the sector. The Government is committed to supporting industry to avoid further redundancies and helping those who have unfortunately lost their jobs. We are working with the Scottish Energy Jobs Task Force to ensure that employers support those at risk of redundancy helping them to access future opportunities through training, education, and employment. In addition to this, my rt. hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced in January a new Inter-Ministerial Group on oil and gas that will publish a UK Oil and Gas Workforce plan in the Spring.

Hinkley Point C Power Station

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Prime Minister's oral Answer of 16 March 2016, Official Report, what part of the text of the agreement on Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant provides that there will be no payment by the Government unless the power station goes ahead and is built efficiently by EDF.

Andrea Leadsom: My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State will make a final decision regarding Hinkley Point C once EDF have reached a Final Investment Decision. The terms of the contract will be published (with only the most commercially sensitive information removed) once it has been entered in to by the parties. In October 2015, the Government laid a minute before Parliament setting out at a high level the terms of the agreement reached with EDF in respect of the Hinkley Point C power plant: http://qna.files.parliament.uk/qna-attachments/425357%5Coriginal%5C20151021%20Minute%20to%20Parliament%20HPC%20contingent%20liabilities.docx.

Environment Protection: Investment

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2016 to Question 23296, what estimate her Department has made of the amount of (a) public and (b) private sector investment for low-carbon infrastructure and supply chain investment which has been invested in each year for which data is available.

Andrea Leadsom: DECC’s March 2015 Energy Investment Report estimates that total investment in low carbon electricity was £42.1billion between 2010 and 2014. Table 1 below splits this investment out by technology type. Detailed information is not available on how this figure is split between public and private sector investment, though the majority is private sector investment supported by government policies, or how much is invested in the supply chain. In November, the Government renewed its commitment to the transition to a low carbon economy by confirming a continued budget for the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). The overall budget for the RHI is to rise from £430 million in 2015/16 to £1.15 billion in 2020/21.  Table 1: Estimated investment in low carbon electricity generation capacity for 2010-2014 Estimated investment in electricity generation capacity in £’s billion (2012 prices)Electricity generation technologyTotalOnshore Wind17.9Offshore Wind9.5Biomass and Bioenergy28.8Marine0.1Solar PV311.4Hydro40.3Other Renewable51.7Renewables Generation Capacity Investment39.6Nuclear62.5CCS0.0Renewables, Nuclear & CCS Generation Capacity Investment42.1Source: DECC’s Energy Investment Report March 2015  1 Including large scale onshore wind, but excluding Scottish Islands onshore wind 2 Including dedicated biomass, biomass conversions, bioliquids, energy from waste, anaerobic digestion (including small scale), advanced conversion technologies, landfill and sewage gas (including CHP variations of any of these technologies)3 Including large and small scale solar PV 4 Including large and small scale hydro technologies 5 Including Scottish Islands onshore wind, small scale onshore wind, and geothermal (including CHP)6 2010-2014 investment estimate includes the purchase of Horizon Nuclear Power by GE Hitachi, the purchase of the Moorside site by NuGen and expenditures in the period relating to the development of Hinkley Point C

Energy: VAT

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what discussions her Department has had with the EU institutions on the (a) level of VAT on energy saving materials and (b) European Commission's VAT Action Plan.

Andrea Leadsom: Tax matters, decisions and discussions on VAT are a matter for HM Treasury. The Department has been in regular contact with HM Treasury regarding the consultation on changes to the application of VAT on energy saving materials.

Home Energy and Lifestyle Management

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what representations she has received on accusations of mis-selling by Home Energy and Lifestyle Management.

Andrea Leadsom: Holding answer received on 23 March 2016



It is not appropriate for me to comment on specific allegations against individual firms. However, I can confirm that in November 2015, acting on information passed to DECC by the Green Deal Ombudsman, I imposed a financial penalty against Home Energy and Lifestyle Management for breaches of the Green Deal Code of Practice related to mis-selling of credit agreements, the obligation under the Code of Practice to act honestly and fairly towards consumers, and the obligation to encourage consumers to obtain alternative quotes. Companies participating in various DECC schemes are expected to adhere to high standards including, where appropriate, those laid out in the Green Deal Code of Practice and the requirements of the Microgeneration Certification Scheme. For firms that are authorised Green Deal Providers, consumers may complain to the Green Deal Ombudsman (where the firm is unable to resolve their complaint), and the Green Deal Oversight and Registration Body also monitor issues raised involving authorised participants. DECC Officials also work closely with other regulators with an interest in firms working under DECC schemes. In the summer of 2015, I established the Every Home Matters review, which contains a strong focus on consumers, and I look forward to receiving the recommendations from this in the coming months.

Energy: VAT

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent discussions her Department has had with HM Treasury on the level of VAT on energy saving materials.

Andrea Leadsom: Decisions on VAT are led by HM Treasury, and the Department has been in regular contact with them regarding the consultation on changes to the application of VAT on energy saving materials.

Nuclear Power Stations: Construction

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what criteria the Government is using to determine the sites of future small modular reactors.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government will address the issue of site identification for small modular reactors in due course, but no potential sites or siting criteria have been identified at present.

Energy: Storage

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential effect of replacing final consumption levies on energy storage devices with a net charging levy to ensure that energy storage devices are not charged twice.

Andrea Leadsom: We have identified the issue raised and are actively working on what actions can be taken to ensure policy levies are not overpaid by storage providers. Net charging is just one of the proposed solutions, and we are discussing a range of options with stakeholders. We expect to set out our views in the coming months.

Coal

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, reference to her speech of 18 November 2015, if she will take evidence from the CoalImP and the World Coal Association in her Department's forthcoming review of coal; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom: My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced in her speech that the department will be launching a consultation on proposals to close unabated coal generation by 2025. Coallmp, the World Coal Association and any other interested parties are encouraged to engage and respond.

Cabinet Office

Cabinet Office: Correspondence

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish direct contact details for all units in his Department.

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will take steps to make it easier for hon. Members and the general public to make contact with officials of his Department.

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will ensure his Department's organogram published at https://data.gov.uk/organogram/cabinet-office is up to date with direct contact details and correct email addresses.

Matthew Hancock: The published List of Ministerial Responsibilities provides contact details for all Government departments.As part of the commitment to making Government more transparent and accountable, Departments are required to publish an organogram every six months.The latest organogram published for the Cabinet Office represented the Department at 30 September 2015 and the contact details, including e-mail addresses, were those applicable at that point in time.

Government Departments: Procurement

Alec Shelbrooke: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what requirements relating to diversity and inclusion commitments apply to companies bidding for Government contracts.

Matthew Hancock: Public Procurement Note 01/13 reminds departments of their legal obligations under the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED), when conducting their public procurement activities:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-policy-note-01-13-public-sector-equality-duty

Cabinet Office: Official Hospitality

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department spent on hosting ministerial receptions in each of the last five years.

Matthew Hancock: Information relating to official and charity receptions held at Downing Street are published on a quarterly basis and are available on the gov.uk website.

Civil Servants: Apprentices

Louise Haigh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what projection he has made of the number of civil service apprenticeships that will be created in each department in each year until 2020.

Matthew Hancock: Holding answer received on 22 March 2016



It is the responsibility of individual Departments to project their workforce, including apprenticeships. The Civil Service implemented a single apprenticeship target of a minimum 2.3% of the workforce in England as apprenticeships starts from 1 January 2016. Departments have agreed to achieve 2.3% of their workforce in England as apprenticeship starts. This is an annual target that will be measured by financial years based on headcount at the start of that reporting period.We estimate that there will be at least 30,000 apprenticeship starts in the Civil Service in England by the end of the Parliament.

Civil Servants: Apprentices

Louise Haigh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what wage the Government plans to pay civil servant apprentices.

Matthew Hancock: Holding answer received on 22 March 2016



Pay below the Senior Civil Service is delegated to Departments and agencies, including for apprenticeships. There is also no single apprenticeship grade. Apprentices on the Civil Service Fast Track are paid at least £19,500 (£22,000 in London).

Civil Servants: Recruitment

Louise Haigh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 5 of the publication, Socio-Economic Diversity in the Fast Stream, published in February 2016, what progress his Department has made on (a) targeting universities and academic departments, (b) evaluating the impact of campus activity and schools outreach, (c) the iterative use of live recruitment data to inform approaches to promoting SEB diversity and (d) introducing other enhanced data insights to direct resources more effectively through the attraction process.

Matthew Hancock: The Cabinet Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Trapping: Animal Welfare

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effect on animal welfare of the use of glue traps.

George Eustice: The Animal Welfare Act 2006 provides protection for animals caught in traps. All traps, including glue traps, must be inspected at regular intervals and trapped animals dealt with appropriately to ensure they do not suffer unnecessarily.

Dogs: Animal Breeding

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to introduce a mandatory dog-breeding licence for any household planning to produce two or more litters per year; and if she will make a statement.

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to ban the sale of puppies under eight weeks old; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice: We are reviewing certain local authority licensing schemes, including the breeding and selling of dogs. The public consultation on this issue closed on 12 March. The consultation proposed that anyone in the business of breeding and selling dogs, or who breeds more than two litters in a twelve month period, would need a licence. We also proposed to prohibit the sale of puppies under eight weeks of age in all cases. We are currently analysing the 1,500 or so responses before making any firm decisions.

Department of Health

Human Papillomavirus: Children

Paula Sherriff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the numbers of children born with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis from mothers who have not been protected from genital warts through the HPV vaccination programme in each year since that programme began; and what assessment he has made of the implications for his policy of trends in those numbers.

Jane Ellison: The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme for girls was introduced in 2008, primarily to prevent cervical cancer. Initially, the bivalent vaccine Cervarix® was used that provides protection against two HPV types, HPV 16 and 18. Since September 2012, the quadrivalent vaccine Gardasil® has been used that provides protection against those two HPV types and also against two additional types, HPV 6 and 11 which cause genital warts. The number of cases of recurrent respiratory papillomatosis that have occurred in children born to females who were vaccinated with bivalent vaccine as part of the HPV immunisation programme during 2008-2012 is unknown and has not been estimated. An assessment of the implications of this condition on vaccination policy has not been made. Public Health England (PHE) has previously published estimates on the numbers of cancers and anogenital warts which would be prevented in males and females with a female only HPV vaccination programme. Within this work it was assumed that the use of the quadrivalent vaccine would reduce the incidence of new cases of recurrent respiratory papillomatosis at the same rate as the reduction in anogenital warts due to HPV 6 and 11, i.e. by 95% (over time). These PHE estimates assumed no reduction in genital warts (or recurrent respiratory papillomatosis) with the use of the bivalent vaccine. However, some reduction in genital warts have since been seen associated with use of the bivalent vaccine and it is therefore possible that some (smaller) reductions in recurrent respiratory papillomatosis may result from bivalent vaccine use.

Human Papillomavirus: Vaccination

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the current multi-purpose vaccine will continue to be used following the recent tender for supply of that vaccine to the UK HPV Vaccination programme.

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the decision making criteria is for the award of the contract for the supply of human papilloma virus vaccine.

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what weighting is being provided to the prevention of genital warts in the decision making process for the contract for the supply of human papilloma virus vaccine.

Jane Ellison: The Department and Public Health England are currently undertaking a procurement exercise to secure vaccine to support the human papillomavirus vaccination programme for girls. As this is a competitive tender, it would not be appropriate to discuss the outcome of the procurement until a contract has been concluded with the successful bidder following the mandatory standstill period.The procurement will take account of the costs and benefits of all vaccines offered to establish which provides best value for money for the National Health Service. The award criteria are published on the government’s Contracts Finder website:https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/813bc859-8662-4c79-822b-f03cc84b8ceb

Human Papillomavirus: Vaccination

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will provide an evaluation of the clinical differences between the quadrivalent and bivalent vaccines available for use in the HPV vaccination programme.

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the quadrivalent vaccine used in the HPV vaccination programme on genital wart incidence.

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he has assessed whether the bivalent vaccine previously used for the HPV vaccination programme had an effect on the incidence of genital warts in the UK.

Jane Ellison: The clinical characteristics and efficacy of the quadrivalent and bivalent human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines have been evaluated in clinical trials, reported in scientific publications and to vaccine regulators. Estimates of the potential impact of the HPV vaccination programme on cancer and warts have been previously published by Public Health England (PHE). The quadrivalent vaccine is expected to prevent up to 95% of vaccine related anogenital warts a year in males and females. PHE has previously published data and analyses showing a reduction in genital warts in England associated with bivalent vaccination: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3789575/ A decrease in genital warts was not anticipated for the bivalent vaccine. However, rates of genital warts have declined significantly amongst the population vaccinated as reported in genito-urinary medicine (GUM) clinics. Data reported to PHE from GUM clinics shows a reduction in rates of genital warts diagnoses at GUM clinics between 2009 and 2014 of 30.6% in 15-19 year-old females and 25.4% amongst same age heterosexual males.

Junior Doctors: Conditions of Employment

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 23 February 2016 to Question 28048, when the Equality Impact Assessment will be published.

Ben Gummer: We expect to publish the Equality Impact Assessment shortly after Easter.

Human Papillomavirus: Vaccination

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made on the likely incidence of recurrent respiratory papillomatosis in the event that the (a) quadrivalent vaccine is maintained for UK HPV vaccination programme for girls and (b) bivalent vaccine is introduced for the UK HPV vaccination programme for girls.

Jane Ellison: The Department has not estimated the impact on the incidence of recurrent respiratory papillomatosis if the bivalent vaccine replaces the quadrivalent vaccine in the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme for girls.Warwick University is carrying out some limited analysis, in the context of its modelling work on the impact and cost effectiveness of extending HPV vaccination to boys, but the results are academically and commercially confidential, and subject to review by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, the independent expert body that advises Ministers on immunisation matters.Estimates of the potential impact of the HPV vaccination programme on cancer and warts, including the incidence of recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, have been previously published by Public Health England in the British Medical Journal in 2011:http://www.bmj.com/content/343/bmj.d5775

Sexually Transmitted Infections: Mental Health

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made on the emotional and psychological effect of acquiring genital warts on an individual.

Jane Ellison: The Department has not made a specific assessment of the emotional and psychological effects of acquiring genital warts. However, it has made use of broader cost-effectiveness analysis, which includes both the physical and mental effects of genital warts, when assessing the human papillomavirus vaccination programme.

Medical Equipment

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps NHS England is taking to ensure that patients have accelerated access to healthcare technologies.

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he plans to take to increase the availability and uptake of innovative technology available to patients on the NHS; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to introduce new initiatives to increase the uptake of new technologies on the NHS; and if he will make a statement.

George Freeman: The Government is actively supporting a number of initiatives to accelerate access to innovative treatments. These include the Early Access to Medicines Schemes which supports access in the United Kingdom to unlicensed or off-label medicines and represents a significant advance in treatment in areas of unmet medical need and the Accelerated Access Review, which aims to speed up access to innovative drugs, devices, diagnostics and digital products for National Health Service patients, and to make the UK the best place to develop these innovations.NHS England supports the invention and adoption of transformative healthcare technologies. This includes existing technologies, where the benefits are already proven but wider adoption is critical to benefit all patients, and new technologies, which require larger scale trials to test out their impact individually and in combination. Current initiatives include the sponsorship of 15 Academic Health Science Networks (£48 million core funding in 2015-16), the Small Business Research Initiative (£20 million in 2015-16), and the Test Bed programme which is providing funding for frontline health and care workers to evaluate the use of novel combinations of interconnected devices such as wearable monitors, data analysis and new ways of working.NHS England has been tasked under section 7.1 of the NHS Mandate to “Implement the agreed recommendations of the Accelerated Access Review including developing ambition and trajectory on NHS uptake of affordable and cost-effective new innovations”.

NHS: Disclosure of Information

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to address historic allegations of mistreatment of whistleblowers in the NHS.

Ben Gummer: The Department supports the right of staff working in the National Health Service to raise concerns and expects all NHS organisations to support staff in raising concerns. We expect all NHS organisations to adopt the national whistleblowing policy for the NHS as a minimum standard, which will be published by NHS Improvement and NHS England next month, and comply with the Employment Rights Act 1996, as amended by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998.A regulation-making power was included in the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 to prohibit discrimination against whistleblowers (or applicants believed by the prospective employer to have been whistleblowers) when they apply for jobs with prescribed NHS employers. The Department is aiming to consult shortly on draft regulations to implement this power.NHS England, Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Authority are currently developing a support scheme for NHS workers and former NHS workers, whose performance is sound and who can demonstrate that they are having difficulty finding employment in the NHS as a result of having made protected disclosures. This scheme will be piloted in the next financial year.

Cancer: Drugs

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the performance of the current data collection infrastructure and its capability to collect real world data in the way outlined in NHS England's plans for a new Cancer Drugs Fund; and if he will make a statement.

George Freeman: Public Health England’s (PHE) National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service is the only national patient-level data source that collects data including outcomes on the whole care pathway on all patients diagnosed with cancer in England. Data are collected from all National Health Service trusts include information on Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy. There is presently no agreement between NHS England and PHE to provide outcome information on patients receiving Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) funded treatments, on a regular basis. However, PHE and NHS England are currently in discussion to establish a dedicated resource to provide routine and bespoke information and analysis, and this could include defined outcome analyses on the CDF. The Accelerated Access Review (AAR) is also looking at ways to better harness data to support the assessment, adoption and reimbursement of innovative treatments, and discussions are ongoing around the scope for aligning the revised CDF with the AAR recommendations.

Schools: Sports

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many episodes of (a) traumatic brain injury, (b) spinal injury, (c) fractures, (d) dislocated shoulders and (e) ligamentous tears were sustained in school sports in each of the last five years.

Jane Ellison: The Department does not hold this information.

Cancer: Mortality Rates

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) causes of the disparity in cancer survival rates between England and Wales and (b) extent to which such disparities are due to access and availability of medicines.

Jane Ellison: No such assessments have been made.We are advised by the Office for National Statistics that, although a Welsh government report published positive cancer survival data on 3 February 2016, this did not compare survival rates with the other UK countries. Such data is not readily comparable due to differences in methods and time periods.

Junior Doctors: Training

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the reasons for trends in the number of junior doctors electing not to finish their postgraduate training in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Gummer: The General Medical Council report, “Interactive reports to investigate factors that affect progression of doctors in training”, shows that for 7,423 Foundation Year 2 (F2) doctors who completed foundation training in 2012, the first cohort the General Medical Council began collecting data on:- 65.8% of these doctors took up a specialty or general practitioner training place immediately after completing foundation training;- a further 16.6% took up a training place the following year; and- 92.5% were in further medical training or working as doctors in the United Kingdom within two and a half years of completing F2.A copy of the report is attached and it can also be found at:http://www.gmc-uk.org/Briefing_note___Exams_and_recruitment_outcome_reports.pdf_60060997.pdf_60086828.pdf



General Medical Council report
(PDF Document, 134.67 KB)

Neuromuscular Disorders: Medical Equipment

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that individuals with muscle-wasting conditions who require a cough assist machine have access to one commissioned in the community by their clinical commissioning group.

Ben Gummer: NHS England has been working with Muscular Dystrophy UK through the Bridging the Gap project to address areas of concern raised by patients and their representatives, one of which is the provision of cough assist machines for people with neuromuscular conditions.Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for commissioning and funding cough assist machines, where appropriate. A number of CGGs have now developed commissioning policies for these devices based on one developed by Walsall CCG, which has been shared nationally as an example of good practice by Muscular Dystrophy UK.

Nabiximols

Mr Nick Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much prescriptions for Sativex were issued in each of the last five years.

Alistair Burt: Information is not collected centrally on the number of prescriptions issued. However, information is available on the number of prescription items dispensed for Sativex in England between 2010 and 20141. Sativex prescription items written in the United Kingdom and dispensed in the community in England Prescription items (000s)Net ingredient cost (£000s) 220102.5841.820113.01,185.020122.81,141.020132.81,158.120142.71,148.3 Source: Prescription Cost Analysis system data provided by the Health and Social Care Information CentreNotes: 1 2015 full year data will be published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre on 7 April 2016 and will be available using the following link: http://www.hscic.gov.uk/pubs/prescostanalysiseng2015 2 Net ingredient cost is the basic cost of a drug. It does not take account of discounts, dispensing costs, fees or prescription charges income.

Prisons: Drugs

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what training is available for prison officers in dealing with inmates who are under the influence of psychoactive substances on the prison estate.

Ben Gummer: Public Heath England has produced guidance to support healthcare and operational staff in prisons in England manage the impact of new psychoactive substances on the health and wellbeing of prisoners and staff and help staff manage security. This guidance is available at:http://www.nta.nhs.uk/uploads/nps-manual-final.pdf

NHS: Finance

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the Prime Minister's policy is on moving to an insurance or user-funded NHS; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: The pressures faced by the National Health Service are common to most developed health systems, regardless of how the system is funded. The Government believes that the answer to these challenges lies in changing the way services are delivered and keeping people well and independent for longer, not in altering the fundamental principles that underpin the NHS.

Blood: Contamination

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department's estimate of the number of people who have been affected by HIV or hepatitis C through treatment with NHS-supplied blood or blood products has changed since the publication of Impact Assessment No. 3140 on 21 January 2015.

Jane Ellison: The figures provided in Impact Assessment No. 3140 have not been updated since publication on 21 January 2016.

HIV Infection: Drugs

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on the reasons for the delay by NHS England on announcing a public consultation on pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he expects NHS England to announce its public consultation on pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV.

Jane Ellison: NHS England does not now consider pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV to be suitable for prioritisation of specialised commissioning spend as it is a preventative measure. However given the potential benefits in this area, NHS England wants to build on the work to date and will be making available up to £2 million over the next two years to run a number of early implementer test sites. These will be undertaken in conjunction with Public Health England and will seek to answer the remaining questions around how PrEP could be commissioned in the most cost effective and integrated way to reduce HIV and sexually transmitted infections in those at highest risk.

Health Services: Older People

Mark Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to help pressures on local health care services resulting from an increasing population of elderly people.

Alistair Burt: We know there are challenges ahead across the health and care sectors, but the principle with which we will approach the decisions ahead will be to prioritise and maximise funding for frontline services. The Government believes that the answer to these challenges lies in changing the way services are delivered and keeping people well and independent for longer, not in altering the fundamental principles that underpin the National Health Service. As a result of the Spending Review, NHS funding will be £10 billion higher in real terms by 2020-21 than 2014-15. And the NHS will not have to wait until the end of the parliament for much of this investment. We will be giving the NHS £3.8 billion more next year, over and above inflation, and almost £6 billion of the £10 billion in the first two years of the six year period. This shows that the Government has listened and responded to what the NHS has said about the level of investment it needs to deliver the Five Year Forward View. The Five Year Forward View – the NHS’s own plan – takes account of rising demand from demographic change and sets out new models of care that can meet the changing needs of patients, including better meeting the needs of the frail elderly, and maximising the opportunities presented by new technologies and treatments. The aim of the new care models programme is to secure the future of the NHS for all of us to continue receiving high quality care, when and where we need it.

Money Laundering: EU Law

Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the number of its senior civil servants who will potentially fall under the provisions of the Fourth EU Money Laundering Directive, 2015/849; and what assessment he has made of which of his Department's agencies or other public bodies will potentially be classed as holding a prominent public function for the purposes of that directive.

Jane Ellison: The Government's view is that the Directive permits a risk-based approach to the identification of whether an individual is a politically exposed person and, when identified, the Directive enables the application of different degrees of enhanced measures to reflect the risks posed. The Government will be setting out this view in a consultation which will be published shortly.The changes proposed under the Directive should not prevent any individual in this category from gaining or maintaining access to financial services. The Treasury regularly raises these issues with financial institutions and the regulator, and we encourage financial institutions to take a proportionate, risk-based approach when applying these measures.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Mental Illness

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people in each age group admitted to A&E for (a) psychiatric conditions and (b) intentional self-harm were re-admitted within 30 days in each of the last five years.

Alistair Burt: The information is not collected in the format requested.

Nurses: Lancashire

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many registered nurses aged between 60 and 67 are employed by (a) Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and (b) Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust respectively; and what proportion of registered nurses in each of those NHS trusts are 60 to 67 years of age.

Ben Gummer: The information requested is shown in the tables below.NHS Hospital and Community Health Services: Qualified Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting staff by age in Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust and Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust as at 30 November 2015.  As at 30 November 2015  Headcount and percentage All AgesAged 60-67% aged 60-67Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust2,318913.9%Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust2,252723.2% As at 30 November 2015  Full-time equivalent and percentage All AgesAged 60-67% aged 60-67Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust2,099693.3%Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust1,977492.5% Notes:Full-time equivalent figures are rounded to the nearest whole number.These statistics relate to the contracted positions within English NHS organisations and may include those where the person assigned to the position is temporarily absent, for example on maternity leave.All Ages in the tables above includes a small number of staff aged over 67.Data Quality:The Health and Social Care Information Centre seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data but responsibility for data accuracy lies with the organisations providing the data. Methods are continually being updated to improve data quality where changes impact on figures already published. This is assessed but unless it is significant at national level figures are not changed. Impact at detailed or local level is footnoted in relevant analyses.Monthly data:As from 21 July 2010 the Health and Social Care Information Centre has published provisional monthly NHS workforce data. As expected with provisional statistics, some figures may be revised from month to month as issues are uncovered and resolved. This information is available from September 2009 onwards at the following website:NHS Workforce Statistics, Provisional statistics - Monthly StatisticsSource:Health and Social Care Information Centre Provisional Monthly Workforce Statistics

General Practitioners

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the change in capacity of GPs to conduct their NHS Health Check obligations resulting from changes in funding for those obligations in the last 12 months.

Alistair Burt: There are no statutory obligations for general practitioners (GPs) to provide the NHS Health Check. The programme is one of the mandated public health functions of local authorities in England. They are responsible for making provision to offer an NHS Health Check to eligible individuals aged 40-74 years once every five years. It is for local authorities to decide on the provider for the NHS Health Check. They can commission a combination of providers including pharmacies and community trusts, as well as GP practices. Public Health England has recently commissioned a stocktake of the NHS Health Check to understand how best to support local implementation of the programme. The results will be published later this year. Since local authorities became responsible for providing the NHS Health Check, we have seen year on year improvement in the number of people accessing the NHS Health Check, with an additional 100,000 checks received during 2014/15. A recent national evaluation has also shown that people from deprived communities are benefiting the most.

Primary Health Care

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect on primary care delivery of changes in the level of administrative demands on those delivering that care.

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of changes in the level of administrative demands on GPs since 2014.

Alistair Burt: The Department commissions and funds independent research into general practitioners’ (GPs) working conditions. Eight national surveys have been published by the University of Manchester since 1998, recording the experience of a nationally-representative cross-section of GPs, as well as reporting on the findings from a longitudinal sample. Since 2005, the survey has considered the amount of time GPs spend on different activities, enabling us to track the impact of changing administrative demands on primary care delivery, although this has not considered changes specifically since 2014. The results for the cross-sectional sample are shown in the table below: Percentage of time GPs devoted to different activities, 2005-2015 Survey Year20052008201020122015% time spent on Direct Patient Care63.36363.162.362.1% time spent on Indirect Care18.217.518.619.319.7% time spent on Administration11.31210.710.98.4% time spent on External Meetingsn/an/an/an/a3.9 (This was the first time this category was included and would account for the fall in the administration and other categories.)Other7.17.57.67.56.3Note: Figures are column percentages. Numbers may not sum to 100% due to rounding errors. N = 868 for the 2005 cross-sectional sample; 1,280 for the 2008 cross-sectional sample; 1,015 for the 2010 cross-sectional sample; 1,154 for the 2012 cross-sectional sample and 1,115 for 2015 cross-sectional sample. Data is published in the Eighth National GP Worklife Survey:http://www.populationhealth.manchester.ac.uk/healtheconomics/research/Reports/EighthNationalGPWorklifeSurveyreport/EighthNationalGPWorklifeSurveyreport.pdf  We are keen to reduce administrative demands on those delivering care where practicable, and the Making Time in General Practice study by NHS Alliance and the Primary Care Foundation www.nhsalliance.org/making-time-in-general-practice/ was commissioned by NHS England in order to identify ways to tackle bureaucracy. It was published in October 2015 and NHS England are now working with the British Medical Association, the Royal College of General Practitioners and others to develop plans to support general practice, including through reducing burdens. The Department has not made an assessment of the effect of changes in the level of administrative demands on the delivery of the other primary care services of optometry, dentistry and community pharmacy.

General Practitioners: Working Hours

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of GP working hours available in each year since 2010.

Alistair Burt: The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) publishes annual statistics on the general practice workforce in England. The full time equivalent number of general practitioners in each year since 2010 is provided in the following table. A full time equivalent equates to 37.5 hours per week. Data for the general practice workforce as at 30 September 2015 will be published by the HSCIC on 30 March 2016.  England full-time equivalentGeneral Practitioners as at 30 September each specified year20102011201220132014All Practitioners, including registrars and retainers35,24335,31935,87136,29436,920 Source:HSCIC